Cranberry Baked Brie

• On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 pastry into a 13-inch square.  Cut brie horizontally in half.  Place the bottom half of the brie, cut side up, in the center of the sheet of pastry.  Spoon half of the cranberry sauce on top.  Top with remaining brie, cut side down, on top of cranberries.  Top with remaining cranberry sauce.

   Without pulling or stretching too much, pull the sides of the pastry up and over to mostly cover the cranberries on top.  Brush top and sides with egg wash.  If desired,  cut out shapes from scraps for small decorations on top.  Brush these as well.  Place the brie on a parchment lined sheet pan and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Brie can be made a day ahead at this point.

   

  Preheat oven to 425º.  Bake brie until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.  Let brie stand on sheet pan for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring to serving plate with a spatula.  Serve with French bread and or crackers.  

Cranberry Sauce  2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries 1 cup water 1 cup sugar Zest of one lemon Juice of one lemon  Place  cranberries, water, sugar, zest and juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.  Cranberries will begin to burst.  Remove from heat and pour out into a shallow dish to cool.  Place in a covered container and chill until ready to use.